Number three mobile operator Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) has submitted a non-binding offer to acquire 100% of the smaller player Warid.
PTCL said the offer, of which the value has not been disclosed, is valid for 30 days. Completion of the…
Number three mobile operator Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) has submitted a non-binding offer to acquire 100% of the smaller player Warid.
PTCL said the offer, of which the value has not been disclosed, is valid for 30 days. Completion of the transaction will be subject to satisfactory due diligence and regulatory approvals, it said in a Karachi Stock Exchange notice.
PTCL and Warid were not immediately available for comment.
Two months ago UAE’s Etisalat, which owns 26% of PTCL and exercises managerial control, had first confirmed that it was considering a bid for Warid.
A merger between PTCL, which operates under the Ufone brand, and Warid would see the number of operators in Pakistan fall to four from five at the moment. The merged entity would be the second-largest player in terms of subscribers.
But PTCL may have to fight a rival bid from China Mobile’s Zong, which is reportedly also interested in Warid’s assets.
A Zong spokesperson was quoted saying last week that parent China Mobile has given its unit a mandate to go forward with the bid. Zong is currently number four in Pakistan’s wireless market.
Warid, fully owned by the Abu Dhabi Group, has attracted strong interest since it was put on the block in June. Besides PTCL and Zong, number one VimpelCom’s Mobilink and Qatar’s Ooredoo have also been rumoured to be looking at the asset. Goldman Sachs has reportedly been mandated to work on a deal.
Earlier this year, Asian telco giant SingTel exited Warid by selling its 30% stake to the Abu Dhabi Group for US$150m.
Until a few months ago, Warid Telecom was present in four countries across the globe. It recently sold its operations in Bangladesh and Uganda to India’s Bharti Airtel.
